No idea what time and the local newscasters wondered out loud "how long they'll make us wait to see that segment?"
Intro to the story: Yao Ming is one of the tallest players in the NBA today, but not much is known about the 7-foot-6 Chinese center for the Houston Rockets. With his memoir, "Yao: A Life in Two Worlds," Ming reveals himself as a thoughtful, opinionated young man who has bridged the gap between two very different cultures while living the American dream. He was invited on the "Today" show to discuss the book. Here's an excerpt. First line of the story: My name is Yao Ming. That’s what everybody calls me, but in America the right way would be to say Ming Yao, because Yao is my family name. Classic! They don't even get his name right when he TELLS thing what it is!
Yao was not the first foreign born number 1 draft pick in the NBA. An earlier draft pick that comes to mind right off the top of my head is Hakeem.
One thing I thought was interesting in the book is that none of the Chinese people quoted in the book refer to him as "Yao" or "Ming" but always "Yao Ming." Yao does the same whenever he mentions people like Liu Wei, always calling him by both names. Could someone tell me if it's a Chinese custom to always call someone by both names?
Oh my god, check out the video link. Yao is HUGE! He makes Roker look like mini-me. His English wasn't so great, but mine wouldn't be either if I were on the Today Show.
Acutally it is Patrick Ewing, I think what they meant is Yao is the first boreign born number 1 pick without the college basketball experience in United States
Good link. I saw the book at Barnes and Noble. I seldom read sports bios, but I think I 'll check it out.
The first character means ¡°woman.¡± The second character means many, many, many ¡ª like a billion, only more. So that means more than Wilt Chamberlain, right?
Chinese rarely call someone only by his last name. You may call someone his first name only if you are really close to him. Particularly for sport players, it is a custom to call his full name. However, when Chinese talk about foreign players, they usually call their first names or last names only, like Jordan or Kobe or O'Neil.
I speak from my experience: Typical Chinese names has 2 or 3 characters: One for family name, one for given name, Yao Ming for example. Or one for family name, two for given name, Wang Zhi Zhi for example. When you know someone well, you could refer them by their given name. This is same as you would do in north america. But, there is a catch here. Chinese people rarely refer a person by their given name if it is only one character UNLESS you are very very close, like between lovers for example. So, you could say Zhi Zhi, but you probably shouldn't say Ming unless you are someone special ;-). You DO can refer someone by their family name though. It is nornal even between friends. So you can say Yao.
Thank you. If I were to meet Yao Ming, would the respectful thing be to address him as Yao Ming or Mr. Yao or exactly how?
